儿童服装公司(2/4)

What would you say is the company's strength?

It certainly helps that we supply those large retailers I mentioned,

and in fact some of them have been customers for years.

I suppose, though, that we wouldn't have survived this long if it wasn't for the fact that we won't send anything out unless it meets very exacting standards.

Our customers appreciate that,

plus the fact that we aim to keep the time from order to delivery very short,

and they're prepared to pay a premium for it.

What about weaknesses?

Well, we've got a poor record in providing training on the machines we're currently using.

And I have to say that Stephen used to run the company in a very old-fashioned, autocratic way,

which alienated a lot of the workers.

Despite Catherine's more enlightened approach,

it's an uphill struggle to try to change attitudes and improve co-operation.

Never an easy task.

No.

You mentioned on the phone that there's a problem with a particular group of workers.

Yes, there's a very high turnover among the machinists,

that's the people who actually make the clothes.